Blogs

Who am I?
D’ you know it? Shall I know it some day?
I am my own way,
the waiting room of the being
That is waiting for me.
Today I’ve been a coward, a genius yesterday
And a stupid some other day;
I am an exhausted walker,
A deserted way,
A passing cloud
A gentle rain
A sour tear
A lonely wind
An extinguished fire.
And who knows what
I’ll be tomorrow.
And what about you,
Do you know who are you?
How many “you” are in you?
And who are all those people around…?
Do you know what “to be” means?
Tell it to me, please
I am yearning to know it.

I am using the Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression in a group format at Lehman College, and will document my findings here. I did look at the resources here to see who has done depression groups or groups in general from an ACT perspective, and what I have found has been helpful.

I have been a Guidance Officer with Education Queensland for the last 12 years. In that capacity I have visited many, many schools: I am constantly amazed that none of them has a psychological framework that underpins the functioning of those schools. My belief that the Hexaflex is an an excellent model for underpinning the functioning of a school! I am posting this in the hope that someone might know whether this can be done/is being done, and if possible 'help me with the cause' of implementing the Hexaflex as an organizational framework. Any help/advice will much appreciated.

I am attempting to put together a small, daily, open co-ed group of 5-8 patients with a dx of PTSD or trauma related issues. The average stay of a patient is 7 - 10 days. The primary questions arises, how do I present a psycho-ed / process group model and apply it with the above noted parameters. I presume that I will teach a "module" on Monday and another "module" on Tuesday, etc. -How do I convey Monday's module to the new members in Tuesday's group w/o taking up inordinate amount of time. Any ideas? Thanks

The recording of the March 31, 2010 Webinar titled
"Learning ACT through the Matrix"
is now available at [[http://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1218104]].

This was a slightly more technical webinar in which I established the Matrix
and also talked about Relational Frame Theory, Functional Contextualism and
the Hexaflex. We talked a lot about the target of ACT: Psychological Flexibility

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The Value A Day email course has been updated. It is now more consistent

Have you stumbled upon this site while looking for information about the WALRUS stress reduction program and online in-service course? You're in luck! Keep reading for more information, or email unr.walrus@gmail.com to enroll.

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This is a press release I recently wrote for a stress reduction program I'm running through UNR with education employees in Nevada. Hopefully we'll be able to help some people out in these rough times. Plus, we'll be collecting data that can help others down the road. Here's the release:

I'm about halfway through my Master's in Counseling program at Webster University in St. Louis, MO (U.S.). ACT, along with Existential influences, is my theoretical orientation. I was wondering if anyone out there who is also in graduate school and subscribes to ACT theory has encountered the absolute weirdness that this brings. That is to say, that ACT runs against many traditional therapies, including aspects of CBT. However, ACT seems to really run counter to psychodynamic theory in case conceptualization, theory of psychopathology, and many other aspects.

Dedicated to the people I serve, I have enjoyed providing psychotherapy and mental health care through the practice of evidence-based cognitive and behavioral therapy for two full decades. My solo private practice offers an elegant, relaxed and entirely confidential setting for the effective realization of vital personal change.

For those who are interested, I just posted a "Sorting" video here [[http://www.actbynumbers.com/glossary.html]] in the Glossary section of the ACT by Numbers website.

Sorting refers to, "Noticing the difference between five-senses experiencing and mental experiencing; and noticing the difference between moving toward and moving away." The sorting is done from a distanced, self-as-context point of view.

Attached you will find a pdf for the new IOP format. This adjustment shows our moving "The Press Box View" from Thursday to Tuesday in light of program evaluation data showing we needed to ramp up self as context.

I am currently reading The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy by Dahl, et al. Thus far (about halfway through it), it has been very accessible and engaging. It provides a nice synopsis of RFT as well as the basic tenets of ACT and does well to clarify different types of cognitive fusion, which would seem to be a helpful way of conceptualizing fusion with clients (or with ourselves). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in ACT, though like with most ACT books, it is highly advisable to read the original ACT book (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) before you do so.

As the CBS community gears up for the 8th World Conference in Reno, NV in June, there has been talk of how this year, the community is focusing on how we can make further strides in translational research and not only learn how to talk to others doing work of interest to us, but also to seek out ways to collaborate. Our mission: Find new ways to alleviate human suffering, stretch our intellect and reach for new questions and new ways of answering them, and learn from the tools developed by others.

This is a one-time Webinar lasting 1.5 hours.
Fee is $20.00
Register at:
[[https://student.gototraining.com/6v8n2/register/4352465480808151808]]
You can pay with any credit or debit card.
After registering you will receive a PayPal invoice for the fee,
however, you don't need a PayPal account.

A four-session Webinar February 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2010 (Wednesdays) at 4pm Eastern Time USA

Limit of 10 participants. Suggested tuition is $125.00 (However, Values-Based tuition is in effect. That means pay what you can afford and what you think it right.)
Sessions will be recorded and available for download for paid participants.

I am applying for a research fellowship to study depression in cancer populations. I was wondering if anyone knows how I might get access to the ACT protocol that Branstetter et al. (2004) used in their study that demonstrated ACT was effective in reducing psychological distress for terminal cancer patients.

Obesity is an increasing problem in the developed world for adults, and sadly, children as well. While numerous factors play a part in weight problems, from a behavioral science perspective, the importance of healthy eating behavior patterns in combatting this epidemic is clear.

Whether we sit alone or sit together, we sit in the ba. “Ba” is Japanese for a circumstance of a shared space: “what I feel now is not in me, but in the ba” (1).

Life is movement. There is no movement without friction. This friction you feel when you sit (meditatively) alone is the feel of the internal circumstance that is moving through you. This friction you feel when you sit (socially) together with another is the feel of the external circumstance that is moving past you. It’s the feel of the ba – feel it and put it back, back into the River of Circumstance.

For 25 years Tony Biglan of Oregon Research Institute (and long-time ACBS member) has been diligently working to bring behavioral science to the area of prevention with the purpose of building well-being at a societal level. With such initiatives as changing public policy to increase safety behaviors (such as seatbealt wearing), preventing smoking, preventing and addressing risky behavior in youth, Tony and countless others have sought ways to move closer to a more real "Walden Two" for children and adults.

There are new grants hitting all over the world in the ACT/RFT arena. Today I want to point out two recently awarded grants that we know about.

[[http://www.contextualscience.org/user/agloster|Andrew Gloster]] has been awarded a grant from the German government. The title of the project is (paraphrased from the German): What Should We Do When CBT for Panic/Agoraphobia Fails: ACT! The goal is to test whether ACT can help those patients who are categorized as non-responders following an intense course of CBT.

Just checking in to let you folks on the email list about upcoming training events. Also, my friend and colleague, Benjamin Schoendorff, just published the first French language ACT book. You can see it at
[[http://www.amazon.fr/Faire-face-%C3%A0-souffrance-Collectif/dp/2725628741]]

Webinars:

I will be facilitating a “new” Webinar in October called

Working with Trauma Memories using the Matrix.

This four-session Webinar will be held on Tuesdays at 4pm EST USA, October 6, 13, 20, and 27.

After the salute to the sun, the Monk lighted the incense bar, sat down in the lotus position and shut down his eyelids in searching of the inner emptyness that brings the power of the subtle cosmical energy. He inhaled... one, two, three, four... and exhaled the air out of his lungs, while trying to become one with the Absolute.